Model 3 wheel options

[Oil Freedom]

The 19” upgraded wheels appeal to me more than the 18” standard aero wheels (with or without the hub cap in place). But, I might be willing to get the Aero wheels IF they offered a significant improvement in range. I’ve seen various unofficial figures for how much the range is improved with the aero wheels -- sometimes as high as 8-10%.

Since I’ve not been able to find anything official from Tesla on this, I had a friendly chat session via the Tesla website and asked about the range difference for the Aero wheels vs. the upgraded wheels on the 310 mile long-range version of the M3. The response from the Tesla representative was: “With the Aero wheels you would achieve a minimal increase in range roughly 5 additional miles per full charge”.

Since it’s only roughly 2%, this makes me lean heavily toward the upgraded wheels. I suppose the M3 already cheats the wind so well (plus with the vents at the front corners that channel the air flow around the front wheels), that “aero” wheels really don’t make much of a difference.

If you’ve seen anything else official on this from Tesla specifically for the M3, I’d love to hear about it. Preferably, Tesla will publish it online.

Also, is it typically true that tires for M3 19” wheels are more expensive than tires for M3 18” wheels?

 

[melindav]

Trying to figure out if I want 18 or 19" wheels on the two Model 3s coming up-- I can't design the car on the site, like I did with my Model Ss-- how to see which size wheel one wants?

here's all the color/wheel combinations:
(uncovered aero, sport and aero)

 

[Thomas Edison]

Fixed your image.

 

[TSportline]

Perhaps they are, but from what I recall reading, not an 18", so of no value for some/many of us.

We will be producing an 18x8.5 TST wheel in the following colors: Metallic Gray, Brilliant Silver, Matte Black, and Gloss Black. We are now accepting preorders for 2018 delivery. More info here.

Great post everyone but lots of speculation is confusing me. Even on posts attached we see stuff like this... View attachment 246848

We have photos of a Black Model 3 with 19" TSTs. More photos here.

 

[tracksyde]

Since I’ve not been able to find anything official from Tesla on this, I had a friendly chat session via the Tesla website and asked about the range difference for the Aero wheels vs. the upgraded wheels on the 310 mile long-range version of the M3. The response from the Tesla representative was: “With the Aero wheels you would achieve a minimal increase in range roughly 5 additional miles per full charge”.

I do not believe what the Tesla rep told you is true. This would imply the rated 310 miles was based on the 19" wheels. Based on the EPA documents and further research by @Troy, it appears all testing was done with the 18s. In fact, I even recall there was some document that detailed the tested energy consumption difference between the 19s and 18s. Its what persuaded me to skip the 19" Sport wheels and stick with the 18" Aeros (I'll just go aftermarket). I'll try to dig those up.

Additionally, the 19s come with Continental ContiProContact (?) RX tires, which are not low rolling resistance (LRR) tires. The 18s, on the other hand, come with Michelin MXM4s, which are a decent tire, but on the lower end of LRR tires (more efficient than non-LRR, but definitely not best-in-class).

Edit: here was a graph made by @insaneoctane that estimates the range differences between 18 vs 19 based on EPA test data

It's alive! [All spoiler, no speculation]

Troy has some data, but its over at M3OC

 

[Vern Padgett]

We will be producing an 18x8.5 TST wheel in the following colors: Metallic Gray, Brilliant Silver, Matte Black, and Gloss Black. We are now accepting preorders for 2018 delivery. More info here.



We have photos of a Black Model 3 with 19" TSTs. More photos here.

View attachment 263592 View attachment 263593 View attachment 263594 View attachment 263595

That is the best-looking car I have ever seen.

Except maybe for some Roadsters.

 

[FlatSix911]

We will be producing an 18x8.5 TST wheel in the following colors: Metallic Gray, Brilliant Silver, Matte Black, and Gloss Black. We are now accepting preorders for 2018 delivery. More info here.

We have photos of a Black Model 3 with 19" TSTs. More photos here.

View attachment 263592 View attachment 263593 View attachment 263594 View attachment 263595

The Model 3 does just not look right with the Model S Turbine wheels ... best to go with a new design direction

 

[Oil Freedom]

I do not believe what the Tesla rep told you is true. This would imply the rated 310 miles was based on the 19" wheels. Based on the EPA documents and further research by @Troy, it appears all testing was done with the 18s. In fact, I even recall there was some document that detailed the tested energy consumption difference between the 19s and 18s. Its what persuaded me to skip the 19" Sport wheels and stick with the 18" Aeros (I'll just go aftermarket). I'll try to dig those up.

Additionally, the 19s come with Continental ContiProContact (?) RX tires, which are not low rolling resistance (LRR) tires. The 18s, on the other hand, come with Michelin MXM4s, which are a decent tire, but on the lower end of LRR tires (more efficient than non-LRR, but definitely not best-in-class).

Edit: here was a graph made by @insaneoctane that estimates the range differences between 18 vs 19 based on EPA test data

It's alive! [All spoiler, no speculation]

Troy has some data, but its over at M3OC

Thanks for the tire info and also finding the links, tracksyde! The analysis for the graphs are very interesting and well considered; however, it's based on the limited info available. So, certain significant assumptions / SWAGS had to be made which can strongly influence the results. With that in mind, the second graph on that page shows what looks like a ~28 mile difference in range (at 65 MPH). I call that significant!

Hoping to get some clarity on this, I had two more online chats with other Tesla reps. These are the relevant bits copied out of the transcript:

• Rep 2: “Range difference would be negligible with the differing wheels. However, tire wear and tear will be more prominent with larger wheels.” Taking 5 miles off the 310 mile range (per the first Tesla rep) is only a 1.6% decrease for going from the 18” aero to the 19” sport wheels and tires.
• Rep 3: “Looks like we do not have any definitive numbers yet, however I did find in our forums that customers lose around 30 miles of range by adding the larger wheels for Model S!”

Clearly, there's no official company line for this yet. I mentioned to the reps that range difference info would be good to have on the Tesla website. Two said they’ll pass it along, and the third rep suggested I send an email to [email protected] with this request. I did that, but I'm not holding my breath.

We know that Monroney stickers do account for the difference between a 4 cylinder vs. a v8 dinosaur engine. So it seems to me that it should also account for any significant range difference due to other options selected such as the wheels. If there really is a significant difference for the M3, the Monroney stickers photos I've found sure don't show any. Instead, it's the very same 310 mile range and a combined 126 MGPe for both the standard 18” aero wheels and the upgraded 19” sport wheels.

 

[Asymmetry]

We will be producing an 18x8.5 TST wheel in the following colors: Metallic Gray, Brilliant Silver, Matte Black, and Gloss Black. We are now accepting preorders for 2018 delivery. More info here.



We have photos of a Black Model 3 with 19" TSTs. More photos here.

View attachment 263592 View attachment 263593 View attachment 263594 View attachment 263595

Make arachnid copies with OEM center cap space that can fit OEM telsa caps

First tests with Tesla’s new lightweight Arachnid wheels on a Model S P100D

 

[FlatSix911]

Make arachnid copies with OEM center cap space that can fit OEM Telsa caps

First tests with Tesla’s new lightweight Arachnid wheels on a Model S P100D

Agree 100% ... love the design and lightweight performance of the Arachnid wheels